Earlier this week, NAIT President Dr. Sam Shaw introduced the virtual world Second Life to the classroom. Dr. Shaw's classroom is on a beautiful tropical island, NAIT owns in the virtual world. It is a high-tech campus equipped to handle podcasts, Powerpoint presentations and play video and audio. It is a space where Dr. Shaw and other NAIT staff can connect with students involved in the popular social medium. NAIT’s involvement in Second Life was initiated by Dr. Shaw. While doing research for one of his Technology in Action columns, he came across Second Life. After interviewing a key player in the virtual world, Dr. Shaw was hooked. He quickly created an avatar for himself. There are a few other schools in Canada with campuses in Second Life, but none have the President of the institution using it as a teaching tool. Check out a video tour of the virtual campus here.
